OSE Encounter Activities - Leech, Giant

There’s something primal about the generally universal revulsion to Leeches. The facial expressions of most people immediately shift to disgust just thinking about them. I don’t think my Players will ever forgive me for the several sessions they were forced to spend traipsing about Swamps, where these slimy bloodsuckers (both in their Small and Giant forms) made for frequent encounters.

Blood-loss as HP damage is generally an acceptable way to handle it, but I tend to sometimes prefer to have them attack Ability Scores directly (usually Constitution, but Strength could also work if those sneaky Shadows hadn’t already secured that niche). I’ve always been a little less rigid with the “Must Be Killed” before detaching rule and encourage the kind of frantic creativity that comes from disgusted Players. Keep in mind other methods may cause the Leech to vomit up their stomach contents, which could be (should be 😊?) rife with all sorts of prepossessing parasites or delightful diseases.